Planned layoffs jump in October

The number of planned layoffs in the US was up 13.5% in October from the previous month, Reuters writes. However, there is some good news:

For the first time in five months, the October figure was lower than the year-ago tally, which came in at 47,724. For 2013 so far, employers have announced 433,114 cuts, close to the 433,725 seen in the first ten months of last year.

The pharmaceutical sector saw the most layoffs, with plans to cut 10,585 employees. Those cuts came mostly from pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co Inc. Last quarter the company reported lower sales of its Januvia diabetes treatment – its biggest product.

The financial sector saw the second-biggest cuts, with 8,717 layoffs announced. The sector has seen the deepest downsizing so far this year, with 57,591 cuts announced since January.